Biotherm is a French

skin care Skin care is a range of practices that support skin integrity, enhance its appearance, and relieve skin conditions. They can include nutrition, avoidance of excessive sun exposure, and appropriate use of emollients. Practices that enhance appea ...

company owned by

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, ...

under the Luxury Products division. Biotherm was acquired by

in 1970. Biotherm originated from mineral water. In the early 20th century, the French doctor Jos Jullien discovered mineral thermal spring waters under

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

mountain in the southern part of France which contained thermal

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

, supposedly a key to healthy skin and a potent skin rejuvenator. In 1952, intellectual property rights were acquired and he used it in skin care products. Thus, ''therm'' in ''Biotherm'' comes from ''thermal plankton'', an ingredient found in all Biotherm products. ''Bio'' comes from the profession of the founder ''biologist''.

History

In the years 1940-50, Dr. Jos Jullien, from Joyeuse in Ardeche (France), noticed the presence of a particular substance on the surface of the thermal waters of Molitg-les-Bains. This substance is composed of thermal plankton. With Jeanine Marissal, he worked on the potentials of this substance that could be integrated towards creating a cosmetic formula. Biotherm was born from this work in 1952, under the leadership of Adrien Barthélémy, owner of the Molitg-les-Bains springs. In 1952, Biotherm launched 3 products: La Crème Triple-Usage, Biotherm Cure and Biomains. Biomains, a hand moisturizing cream, is still on the market today. In 1955, 3 years after the creation of Biotherm, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' noticed this new French brand: "Plankton is used as aid an to beauty." During the 1960s the brand developed several targeted skincare solutions to address specific needs, including its first sun cream and its first "slimming cream". In 1968, Biotherm introduces Bio-Buste Suractive on the market, its first "breast firming cream". Biotherm was acquired by

in 1970.

. In 1982 French skipper Florence Arthaud starts the

Route du Rhum The Route du Rhum is a transatlantic single-handed yacht race, which takes place every four years in November. The course is between Saint Malo, Brittany, Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Mé ...

race with her trimaran BIOTHERM II, designed by Xavier Joubert. In 2006 Stanford University researchers support use of Pure Thermal Plankton in Biotherm formulas In 2012, Biotherm created Biotherm Water Lover, a charity program to protect the world's water, in association with Sylvia Earle's Mission Blue organization

References

{{Cosmetics L'Oréal L'Oréal brands